Determinants and success factors of student entrepreneurship: Evidence from the University of Padova

“Student entrepreneurship" is an innovative way of looking at the impact of universities on the territory, and represents an alternative (and numerically more relevant) model to that of academic spin-offs. The study of the entrepreneurial activities of the 119,347 graduates of the University of Padua between 2000 and 2010 offers useful food for thought on the profile of the student who is oriented towards business creation and on the determinants of the success of entrepreneurial action. Some implications on the orientation of the courses of study and possible actions to support the entrepreneurship of new graduates are illustrated.